As mobile network operators are facing a tremendous traffic increase, not corresponding to the associated revenue, they are in an urgent need to reduce Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operating Expenditure (OPEX) costs. Infrastructure sharing is a means to reduce network deployment and operation costs provided that such an activity can reflect accurately mobile operator's service demands. The first generation of network sharing solutions concentrated on passive and active sharing based-on fixed, i.e. long term, contractual agreements among mobile network operators and virtual mobile operators or third parties, which are commonly referred to as tenants. Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has already specified two architectures for enabling network sharing (for reference, see 3GPP TS 23.251, Network Sharing; Architecture and Functional Description, Rel. 12, June 2014). One referred to as Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN), where each operator is sharing base stations known as evolved Node Bs (eNBs) in 3GPP terminology, connected to the core network elements of each mobile network operator using a separate S1 interface. In the second one named Gateway Core Network (GWCN) operators share additionally the Mobility Management Entity (MME).
A method that defines how a mobile operator can identify a shared network infrastructure, and selectively allow users to handover considering the scenarios of offloading, coverage extension and virtual mobile operator is presented in US 2013/0267229 A1, concentrating on the Radio Access Network (RAN). Such a method is based on Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) id or partner id, while handover mechanisms are specified considering both MOCN and GWCN architectures. A complementary method that identifies core network traffic related to different virtual operators ensuring isolation and provision of the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) in the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is introduced in US 2013/0176975 A1.
However, these solutions are not meant to be dynamic, neither flexible considering short terms resource allocation request, i.e. in the scale of hours, minutes or even seconds. Recent solutions focus on more dynamic, on-demand mechanisms that require no-human intervention, i.e. signaling-based, which can re-configure resources among different tenants within hours, a few minutes or even seconds. A set of such solutions introduce the network entity of capacity or resource broker, a centralized logical or physical entity that resides inside a mobile operator network or within a third party infrastructure and facilitates network sharing. In particular, the capacity or resource broker is responsible for receiving service requests from virtual mobile network operators or application providers or third parties, assess such requests based-on the global network resource view and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), allocate network resources and network policies to accommodate the placed requests and support the related charging procedures.
The notion of capacity or resource broker is also introduced in 3GPP with a high level business use case presented in, which facilitates on-demand resource allocation in where a host RAN provider, i.e. infrastructure provider, can share via automated means an indicated portion of capacity for a particular time period with a virtual mobile network operator (for reference, see 3GPP TR 22.852, Study on Radio Access Network (RAN) Sharing enhancements, Rel. 13, September 2014). Such a use case leaves open how the capacity or resource broker is integrated on the current 3GPP RAN architecture, considering the network interfaces needed and towards which Evolved Packet System (EPS) elements, while it also does not detail the related operations.